Majority of hazards repaired at Hampton playground

HAMPTON — The playground that was the subject of an "alarming" safety report in June is one step closer to being completely sanded and refinished.

Nick B. Reid

HAMPTON — The playground that was the subject of an "alarming" safety report in June is one step closer to being completely sanded and refinished.

Town Manager Fred Welch said he's received three bids for the project, which will cost the town about $2,140 in all.

The wooden playground was splintering in some areas and presented a hazard to children, according to a review performed by safety advisor Lara C. Cole of the New Hampshire Local Government Center. The $2,140 low bid covers materials and labor for belt sanding areas of the entire playground, as well as coating it with a transparent oil wood finish.

Several areas of concern, as detailed in the LGC report, were addressed immediately, or even in some cases before the report was issued to selectmen.

Director of Parks and Recreation Dyana Martin said the 18-year-old playground gets "massive" usage and is supposed to serve up to 250 kids at a time.

"That playground's always full," she said, noting that an entirely new playground would cost potentially upwards of $100,000.

Selectmen decided in June to look into resurfacing the wood to hopefully prolong its life and avoid spending a large sum on new equipment.

"The decking is not structurally unsound or rotted or anything like that; it's simply a splintering issue," said Chairman Dick Nichols. "I've done stuff like resurface mahogany decks with planers, because mahogany is so expensive, and you literally come out with something that's like a new deck," he said.

Welch initially suggested that he would present the bids in detail to selectmen Monday, but they said he could work it out with Martin and award the project to whoever they feel is best, since it falls below the $15,000 purchasing policy limit.

Nichols was pleased with the relatively low amount of money the project is costing, compared to initial estimates.

"I think that's absolutely great," Nichols said, adding that by his estimate, "I can't imagine that we're going to be spending more than 5, 6, $7,000 dollars (on other fixes besides the wood treatment) and this started out last summer as more than $100,000 to replace it."

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